Q & A

What made you decide that you wanted to be a writer?

In second grade, we came back from recess and there were giant paper footprints leading from the door, over desks and chairs and out the window. We had to write a story to explain what happened. I’ve pretty much been writing since that day.What led up to “Waiting for Ethan?”

A friend challenged me to participate in national novel writing month, the goal of which is to write 50,000 words in November. I started writing about a woman who dated a lot of recently divorced men and the story evolved from there. “Waiting for Ethan” really doesn’t resemble the story I wrote that November because I spent so much time revising, but Gina and Ethan were two of the characters’ names in the original story I wrote.Who is your favorite character in “Waiting for Ethan?” I definitely like them all, but I really enjoyed writing scenes with Luci. I love how direct she is, and even though she pretends to be tough, she is soft-hearted.What was your high point while writing your book? Low point?

I had the privilege of reading chapter two to my literary idol Elizabeth Berg during a workshop and she liked it! Well, she’s really nice so maybe she didn’t and just didn’t want to hurt my feelings but I got to read something I wrote to Elizabeth Berg. A fantastic moment for me! I didn’t really have a low point. For me, writing is just fun.Why should we read “Waiting for Ethan?”

You should read it to be entertained and to take your mind off serious issues. I hope parts of it will make you laugh, and you’ll probably cringe at some of Gina’s choices, but I hope you’ll still be rooting for her.

Are you working on anything new?Yes, a novel tentatively titled “Tuning Out Nico” about a woman who has a viral breakup, of sorts, on a radio show.

How did you come up with the fictional town in the book? I struggled with deciding to set Waiting for Ethan in real New England towns or fictional ones. In the end I decided to go with fictional towns that are based on real places. I grew up in Framingham, Massachusetts during the eighties, and Westham is a combination of Framingham and other MetroWest towns during that time. Clayton is based on Newton, Massachusetts, where I lived for most of my twenties and thirties. I choose to set Ethan and Leah’s home in a fictional town in the White Mountains because I love that area. We spend a lot of time there because my in-laws have a home there.

How is writing for your day job in marketing different from writing a book? I’m extremely fortunate that my day job gives me the opportunity to do something I love: write. However, the writing is extremely different than my fiction writing. I work for a company that competes in the healthcare sector so the opportunities to be creative are minimal and the voice has to be corporate. Writing for my day job is also a collaborative effort while my fiction writing is a solitary experience.